‘Reckless and selfish’
A drug-driver who lost control of her vehicle and caused a serious head-on collision – leaving her passenger with life-changing injuries – has been jailed.
Keisha Barnes was driving a white Mini Cooper, on the A259 at Colworth near Bognor Regis, in the early hours of Sunday, April 30 last year.
The 39-year-old ‘veered into oncoming traffic’ and collided with a Toyota Verso taxi driving northbound, Sussex Police said. "She lost control while driving southbound and later told officers she must have fallen asleep at the wheel,” a police spokesperson added. “Barnes had taken cocaine earlier in the night, and the collision caused serious life-changing injuries to her passenger.”
A court heard that Barnes – unemployed of Queen Street, Littlehampton – was herself injured and needed surgery after the collision at 1.50am. Police said the fire service had to use specialist equipment to free her and the passenger from the wreckage of the collision.
In a victim personal statement her passenger warned her: “If you keep doing what you are doing, then you will hurt more people and ruin other people’s lives.”
The police said a blood test showed Barnes had 35 microgrammes (ug) of cocaine per litre of blood in her body, adding: “The legal limit is 10ug of cocaine per litre of blood. Drug-driving is one of the main causes of people being killed or seriously injured on our roads.”
At Lewes Crown Court on March 13, Barnes admitted causing serious injuries by dangerous driving, police said. She was jailed for two years and six months. She was also disqualified from driving for four years and three months and must take an extended retest, police confirmed.
Police have now released video footage of the terrifying crash. You can see the video at www.sussexworld.co.uk
Detective Constable Kelly Newton, from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “Barnes’ actions that night were reckless and selfish. This case demonstrates how drug-driving poses a serious risk to the safety of all road users, including the driver themselves. Drugs can stay in your system for a very long time after you take them and have a long term impact on your ability to drive.
“Barnes was incredibly fortunate not to have caused a fatal collision that night. There is simply no excuse for being intoxicated behind the wheel, and we are pleased that a dangerous driver has been taken off our roads.”